Guardado looking for comeback

Monday

Sep 24, 2007 at 12:01 AM

SAN FRANCISCO - Eddie Guardado is now more Every Other Day Eddie than Everyday Eddie. He's never quite sure where his pitches are going to end up when he does take the mound, and his goal of pitching in 1,000 games was seriously hindered by his 13 appearances this year.

Lori Gilbert

SAN FRANCISCO - Eddie Guardado is now more Every Other Day Eddie than Everyday Eddie. He's never quite sure where his pitches are going to end up when he does take the mound, and his goal of pitching in 1,000 games was seriously hindered by his 13 appearances this year.

The surgery-induced numbers add up to the worst season of his 13-year career, but Guardado looks for a big comeback in 2008.

It's just his nature.

He still marvels at having been able to make a livelihood from baseball and a week shy of his 37th birthday, remains "a kid from Franklin."

For him to have traveled the road from Franklin High to Delta College to major league All-Star makes the road from Tommy John surgery back to major league closer all the more likely.

"No doubt," he said Sunday before his Cincinnati Reds team wrapped up a four-game series with the Giants.

He didn't pitch in the Giants' 5-4 win, although he said he was available.

He pitched a scoreless inning in Friday's game, striking out one. He also pitched a scoreless inning in his previous outing on Wednesday in Chicago.

He looked good doing it, but admits either of those innings could have gone the other way.

"Every time I get in the game, I don't know what I'm going to have," he said. "That's the frustrating part. They said, 'Eddie, the last thing that's going to come back is your location.' They were right."

For a guy who always depended on his accuracy rather than overpowering heat to succeed, it's made for a brutal comeback.

"You get your feelings hurt when you're out there," he said, laughing.

If he seems to take his current situation lightly, he's never taken his position in the big leagues that way. The kid from Franklin has always been like a kid in a candy store who retains wide-eyed wonder every time he's allowed to put on a major league uniform.

To keep that uniform on he'd have done anything. He became Everyday Eddie, the reliever the Minnesota Twins could always count on. All those appearances - 83 in 1996, 79 in 1998, 70 in 2000 - eventually took a toll on him, most likely the cause of his tendon being worn away.

"I wouldn't take anything back," he said.

Guardado pitched in pain. That's what old-school players do. It's a source of pride for him.

He can't remember when his elbow began to actually hurt, rather than just experience pain.

It was probably at the end of the 2005 season. When he started as Seattle's closer in 2006 and blew his first two save opportunities, he was hurting.

"It was like my forearm muscle, every time I pitched, like it was going with me. It was like a knife jabbing it every time you're throwing."

Ouch.

But he said nothing, not wanting to use the injury as an excuse for his performance. He let the Mariners think it was early season rust and that he'd bounce back.

He never did. Teammate J.J. Putz emerged as a legitimate closer and Guardado was traded to the Reds on July 6.

He had eight saves and a 1.29 earned-run average in 15 appearances for the Reds, but didn't work after Aug. 19 because of the pain.

But the surgery isn't career-ending, and he went into it knowing he'd be back.

A post All-Star Game return was targeted after months of rehab that included massages, stretching, squeezing a tennis ball and gradual throwing.

The Reds called him up on Aug. 7.

"That was the best phone call I heard in a while," Guardado said. "(General manager) Wayne Krivsky was telling me, 'You're going to join the team.' I was ready. They always told me, 'Don't expect to be back to Everyday Eddie' and I was like, 'I know, I know, I know.' "

His contract with the Reds ends with the season, but he has no concerns about his future, be it with the Reds, the team that saw him through the surgery and recovery, or with someone else.

He envisions being Everyday Eddie by next season. He also sees himself as a closer.

To start doubting him now, or questioning how far he can go, would be foolish.